What's with the shopping cart barriers everywhere? (Oakton, Fairfax: home, landlord)

[shifuimam]

We've noticed since moving to Fairfax that every single grocery store has barriers in front of the store, making it obnoxiously difficult to get your cart to your car to unload your groceries.

Why is this? Is there a law requiring these barriers, or is it just some precedence set by someone and now everyone does it?

[tgbwc]

I know what you are talking about, but I haven't seen them around here at the supermarkets we shop. They are really annoying though.

[athousandlogins]

Not everyone does this. The Wegmans in Fairfax doesn't...the Giant in Oakton doesn't...the Shoppers in Falls Church doesn't...the Safeway in Pan Am plaza doesn't...and these are just the ones that I've shopped at.

But the Giant in Falls Church does this, so you're definitely not making it up Maybe the Shoppers in Fairfax City, too,. My guess is that this design is specifically meant to keep carts from rolling around the parking lot. The Giant in Falls Church doesn't even have any corrals in the parking lot, so you have to take your cart back even if you manage to get it out there. That parking lot is crazy, though, so I'm glad there aren't too many carts rolling around.

[ACWhite]

I heard that many grocery carts "disappear" each year, and these are costly, so they cut into a slim profit margin. Grocers are making it harder for people to walk off with the carts.

[ChristineVA]

None of the stores I shop at have visible barriers, however, they have put a very rough, bumpy surface in the area where you walk into the street. There have been times that it actually has been tough to push my cart over that stuff. But the purpose is to keep the loose carts from rolling into the road.

[weezycom]

The barriers are to cut down on shopping cart theft, and to a lesser extent reduce damage -- those cockeyed wheels and such rarely come from in-store handling.

[bmwguydc]

In some places, I think it's a requirement of the landlord/property management because they want to mitigate any potential claims for damage in the parking lot. There are many more effective means of keeping carts from being stolen, such as the locking wheels, etc. But, I don't think that's a huge problem in Fairfax, since most everyone drives to the store.

[RVA-Jsn20]

Originally Posted by weezycom

The barriers are to cut down on shopping cart theft, and to a lesser extent reduce damage -- those cockeyed wheels and such rarely come from in-store handling.

This.


Anyone who has ever seen a homeless person walking around with a stolen shopping cart carrying their life belongings understands why grocery stores do this...

[WineCountry]

Originally Posted by RVA-Jsn20

This.


Anyone who has ever seen a homeless person walking around with a stolen shopping cart carrying their life belongings understands why grocery stores do this...

Where I live you see this all the time in certain areas. Also, some people use the carts to take their groceries home if they live within walking distance. Or use them for go-carts, etc.

[car54]

Originally Posted by shifuimam

We've noticed since moving to Fairfax that every single grocery store has barriers in front of the store, making it obnoxiously difficult to get your cart to your car to unload your groceries.

Why is this? Is there a law requiring these barriers, or is it just some precedence set by someone and now everyone does it?

I think the barriers are a thing of the past...and are removed as stores are updated. I know the chain grocer at my strip center has removed them and put corrals out in the parking lot.

The store manager told me that the savings from getting rid of the employees that loaded cars more than offsets the losses from stolen carts.

It's a good thing teenagers don't want to work nowadays, because that was a great "kid" job...